Ves-shi - Sea Elves
The Ves-shi, or Sea Elves in the common tongue, were originally a splinter group of High Elves who left the citadel on an information-gathering journey to Lona. They ended up stranded and eventually evolved into the sea-faring race of pirates and merchants. They somehow manage to coexist among the Lon-shi and Harpies, despite their pirate fleets often raiding both other races. Physical Characteristics The Ves-shi face and body can be described as a lessened version of their High Elven ancestors. Their face is less alien and angular, with a more human-like shape, and their body isn’t as unnaturally thin or tall, having a height of 6’2” to 6’10” and an athletic build like an olympic swimmer. In their normal form, out of water, they have three closed gills on each side of their neck, and a slight webbing in between their fingers and toes. Aside from skin and eye color, these are the only traits that would identify them as Sea Elves. Ves-shi’s skin is always a light, mottled sea-green, and their eyes are bright orange. The hair is often curly, and either brown or black. It’s typically bound in braids or cut short. Any way it’s worn, carved wooden and metal beads are woven into it. Whenever facial hair is grown, this gets the same treatment as the head hair, though decorated more extravagantly among pirates. Waterform When fully submerged under water, a Ves-shi can “waterform”, and turn into a more aquatic version of themself. Their orange eyes begin to glow as a light source, and a second, transparent, eyelid will close under the natural flesh one, providing a barrier between the eye and the salty sea water. Toes and fingers elongate, the webbing between them lengthening to the tips, and gaining an orange tone to it. The neck’s gills will open up and begin to function, and the Ves-shi will become even more fishlike as their skin gains a texture and appearance like fish scales. Mental Characteristics Ves-shi are an inherently greedy race, leading them to one of two paths: Pirates or merchants. While some would say they could just be bank managers, but another universal trait of them is flightiness. Sea Elves rarely stay in one location for more than a week, having a powerful desire to explore the unknown. Typically this “unknown” involves getting rich in one way or another. Populations Globe, region, country, etc In the globe Lona, the Ves-shi rule the seas. They have no formal nations, living in floating villages made of rafts and other vessels roped together, with a large central ship. Society The leader of any Ves-shi village or ship is the Veswa, or sea captain. He directs the travel course of his fleet, and all other matters. Often, a small group of handpicked advisors take over lesser tasks. All these important people are located in the central ship. The common folk live on the smaller boats connected to the central, and make a living through fishing and diving for treasure. Culture The Ves-shi language is known simply as Ves-shi, Sea Elven. A branch of High Elven, it’s influenced by Haran, the Harpy language. Minus the tweets and wing-flapping, of course. The language is shared with the Lon-shi race, their dialect being different but not enough to be it’s own language. Life at sea is a large part of Ves-shi culture, showing in their food and natural habitat. Seafood of any kind is a staple of Ves-shi culture, so much that they rarely eat anything else. All Ves-shi village-fleets, from pirates to merchants, are located in the seas where most of their fishing takes place. Aside from fishing and pirating, another occupation Ves-shi often have is diving for treasure by Waterforming. Their fashion resembles Earth’s pirates, decked out in extravagant coats, hats, and jewelry of every kind. To the Sea Elves, wealth means nothing unless you can flash it about. History TBA Religion The Ves-shi worship the sea in a very unorganized fashion. There’s no formal church, laws, or even prayer, each Sea Elf honors the sea in his or her own way. This could take the form of offering sacrifices of gold to it’s depths, fasting, or having a shrine on their ship full of seashells. Politics The eldest child of the previous Veswa is always the next in line. If for whatever reason the Veswa has no children, or the children are too young or unable to take over the position, the first mate takes the job. Beyond that leadership position, the others are all chosen by the Veswa. Warfare The Ves-shi pirates have a history of conflict and cooperation with the other people of Lona. While the merchants have peaceful relations with the Lon-shi and Harpies, the pirates are an entirely different matter. They raid and steal from other Ves-shi fleets, especially the defenseless merchants. These pirates are often hired as mercenaries Technology While their Lon-shi cousins developed land weapons such as catapults and ballistae, most Ves-shi technology is stolen and adapted from other races, namely the Othokar, or Orcs. Using Othokaran gunpowder technology, the Ves-shi were quickly able to develop cannons and basic matchlock muskets. Both commonly find use in pirate fleets, Ves-shi firing squads easily outmatch the other Lonan races in ranged weaponry. Aside from gunpowder weapons, cutlasses are the most common Ves-shi weapon. Trivia Category:Races